– PRIDE FULLY LOADED: SENTORYU VS. ZULU

by Damon Martin
Again Pride outdoes itself with it’s very interesting match making. This time around it’s 1-3 former Sumo master, Henry “Sentoryu” Miller taking another shot at mixed martial arts, and his opponent is Zulu. Yes, I said Zulu.

Henry Miller was brought in a very “Emmanuel Yarborough” move, putting a big sumo fighter inside the ring and allowing him to try and prove that he is a real fighter. So far the experiment has been very much a failure. In his first fight, he took on former pro wrestler, Paulo Cesar “Giant” Silva, in the first round of the Pride heavyweight grand prix in 2004.

In a fight that was almost painful to watch, Miller fell prey to the deceptive submission skills of Silva, losing by kimura. Miller did defeat Mal Foki in short fashion by knockout, but has since lost a decision to Japanese Judo gold medalist, Makoto Takimoto, and then being brutally KO’d by British fighter, James Thompson.

Miller’s return is another shot by Pride to turn a famous athlete from another contact sport into a champion. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

Wagner Conceicao Martins, better known as Zulu, comes into this fight as the son of the original Zulu who apparently battled Rickson Gracie in his hay day back in Brazil. (Credit to ADCC for this news as they were the only place to find a history about this guy). Zulu is a very large man who is primarily a street fighter with boxing skills, that has been a security guard in Brazil for the past few years.

This is the truest definition of a match that will have every fan asking.. “Why?”

The answer is I have no clue, but I’m sure it will be a quick fight.

Miller does have some experience in MMA now, but still hasn’t shown any real progression in the sport. Zulu is rumored to have good boxing skills, but will hold a very big height advantage going into this fight. Someone is sure to get knocked out, most likely early, early in the first round.